Which to use
“mamã” and “meta” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,037
- “mamã” frequency rank
- #2,523
- “meta” frequency rank
- 31560
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mamã | meta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mãe | alvo, objetivo |
Where the eye mixes mamã and meta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mamã with meta
A purely visual mix-up. mamã (/mɜˈmɜ̃/) and meta (/ˈmɛ.tɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mamã is recorded at frequency rank #29,037, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɜˈmɜ̃/. meta is at rank #2,523, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.tɐ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 31560, this pair ranks #36,481 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mamã vs meta
Shared letters: am. Private to "mamã": ã. Private to "meta": et.
"mamã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "meta" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- meta ← emta · meat · metta · mmeta · mtea
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mamã" for "meta" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mamã" or "meta" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mamã" and "meta" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mamã" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,481 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mamã" and "meta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mamã". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #36,481 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.